Day 10
I am a sucker for a holiday … ANY holiday. Ground Hog Day (Februrary 2nd) is lovely (but I’m still mad at stupid Phil this year for predicting more winter as I don’t want any more winter). Bunsen Burner Day (March 31) is always nice … one of those “get cozy with someone over the flame of a highly flammable gas canister in the lab” type of days. And who doesn’t love National Thriftshop Day (August 17th), International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th) or National Repeat Day (June 3rd) – (I said, “Repeat Day is on June 3rd.”)?
But today is Valentine’s Day. The holiday most associated with LOVE. Tolstoy said it this way, “Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love.”
NECCO said it this way, “I C U R A Q T.”
However, many people protest that it is a “Hallmark” holiday … manufactured by the greedy business owners of flower, candy, lingerie, jewelry and card shops portraying love by dollars spent and fueling consumerism and commercialism; striking guilt into the hearts of the people who forget, causing quite a few arguments for those who don’t buy into this manufactured holiday of love and romance, and heartache into the hearts of others: the forgotten or unattached.
I, personally, am tickled with the thought of a holiday that honors all that is love and romance and matters of the heart. (And it breaks up the winter doldrums!) However, in doing a bit of research … the whole Valentine’s Day thing does sound more like a ploy by commercialists than an act of unfailing love by some dead guy. Read on.
Saint Valentine’s Day (according to the infinite wisdom of the internet) is a holiday observed on February 14th honoring one or more of the early Christian martyrs named (yep … ) Saint Valentine.
In one rendition: Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and, after Roman Emperor Claudius II failed to convert him to paganism and Saint Valentine failed to convert the emperor to Christianity, was executed. However, before his demise it is reported that he performed a miracle by restoring the sight of the jailer’s blind daughter. Nice but not too romantic and it certainly doesn’t make me want to get out construction paper and doilies and start making hearts.
Rendition number two comes closer to providing a connection with romantic love: Here we have Roman Emperor Claudius II, again, ruling the lands. And wanting to grow his army he allegedly ordered that all young men remain single; believing that married men did not make good soldiers. In steps good old Saint Valentine – heralder of conversation heart candies and singing telegrams (not really) – who in defiance of the edict and in the name of love secretly married the young men and their betrothed. When the emperor found this out he was not pleased and he threw Saint Valentine in jail … and soon thereafter had him beheaded. Which also does not make me want to get out the glitter and glue and red shiny heart stickers or eat chocolate covered cherries. (Actually, nothing makes me want to eat chocolate covered cherries!)
Version number three … this is where the card companies come into play … has Saint Valentine, for whatever reason, in jail and on the eve of his execution he (got out the glitter, glue, red shiny heart stickers, construction paper and doilies) and made the FIRST EVER … “valentine” card and sent it to the jailer’s lovely daughter … signing it “From your Valentine” … leaving her with his heart (not literally) for all eternity and opening up the gates for the modern day greeting card industry.
Ta da!
And so … that’s where we get Valentine’s Day from. Or not.
In any case … give of yourself … your time, a love note, bake cookies for your sweetie but if you are not a baker or the crafty glue and glitter type … get crackin’ – the day is still young!
And, if you are thinking of getting CANDY – you are not alone. Roughly 47% of Americans will exchange some type of candy amounting to a gastronomical (ha!) amount of $1 billion in sales; chocolate being 75% of that amount. You don’t have to go expensive, fancy or chocolate – though 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are given to sweethearts each year – you can give a bag of pink and white Good and Plenties or cinnamon hearts (or whatever) tied with a ribbon; that might just be the way to your love’s heart (or stomach)! (Or your own!)
Or maybe flowers are more you. Red roses (symbolizing passionate love and 71% of all roses sold) are the flower of choice being 43% of all flowers sold during this holiday. Nearly 110 million stems are sold for Valentine’s Day, with men purchasing 75% of those thorny love tokens. Sales for flowers at this time of year are more than $1.7 billion!
The U.S. Greeting Card Association (yes, there is such a group) estimates that 190 million valentines are sent each year (in the U.S.) with half of those given to children. If you include the elementary school traditional valentine exchanges that number climbs to well over 1 billion valentines exchanged each year.
And for all of you who think you know the entire poem stating that roses are red … well, think again. This “modern” poem found in a collection of English nursery rhymes in Gammer Gurton’s Garland dates back to 1784:
The rose is red, the violet’s blue. The honey’s sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love and I am thine: I drew thee to my Valentine. The lot was cast and then I drew, And Fortune said it shou’d be you.
Commercialism and consumerism be damned … any holiday that promotes showing your love to someone else and eating candy all day long is a good day! So, make it special … give a kid a valentine, smile at a stranger, get out the glitter and glue, and do something nice – even if it’s for yourself! Happy Valentine’s Day!